1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicular visual assistance system comprising: image pickup means mounted on a housing of a door mirror, the image pickup means being capable of picking up an image of a fore-and-aft region sideward of a vehicle; a display monitor provided within a vehicle compartment, the display monitor being visible to a vehicle driver; and image processing means for displaying on the display monitor an image obtained by processing an image signal from the image pickup means.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-67794 discloses an arrangement in which images of the front and rear regions sideward of a vehicle are picked up simultaneously by an image pickup system provided in a lower part of a housing of a door mirror, and the picked up images are displayed on a monitor within a vehicle compartment.
The view sideward of a vehicle obtained by a vehicle driver on a driver's seat is a combination of a front side direct view through a windshield, a rear side indirect view obtained via a door mirror, and an image obtained by the image pickup system. However, the above-mentioned arrangement has a possibility that blind spots might occur between the direct and indirect views and the image obtained by the image pickup system, and it is difficult to check the safety in the blind spot areas. Moreover, since it is impossible to receive an impression that the direct view, the indirect view, and the image are continuous, the visibility for the vehicle driver is degraded.